I've been trying to stay neutral and open-minded when it comes to the eBooks vs Tree Books debate in this course, but deep down I still prefer Tree Books and feel sort of smug when I see articles like this very short one I found on Twitter today. Apparently, Kindle users with pre-2012 devices need to update their software within the next 24 hours or the device will not work, and I can't really imagine a comparable situation when it comes to Tree Books...
I'm with you on this. This morning my roommate let me borrow her Kindle so I could read the sequel to a book I have in print. I've used the Kindle before and didn't really enjoy it, but I want to read this book so I figured I'd give it another chance. But as I was reading it, I noticed that the words of previous pages seem to linger in the background. I know that when we're reading print books we can see through the pages, but I found this incredibly distracting and unappealing. So I share your smugness for tree book vs. e-book.
ReplyDeleteBut related to this article, it makes me think of that sense of elitism Professor Galey and Bobby were talking about today because I can't help but think to myself, "Well, serves you right, print is better. So there." But I am trying to suppress that inner voice and I will finish this Kindle book...I will.
Hi Angelique, thanks for your comment, it's comforting to know I am not the only one feeling smug and elite with my print books. It's interesting that you bring up being able to see through print pages vs words lingering in the background of electronic pages, and the way it stood to to you. I wonder if part of what can be so uncomfortable about eBooks for fans of print is the ways in which they try to mimic print but do not quite succeed?
ReplyDeleteOh man, I love how the comments sections of articles like these can really show you how impassioned people are about the future of the book, and how angry they get about technologizing (I looked it up, it's a word..) the book. I especially appreciated the most liked comment: "Funny, I don't recall ever being forced to upgrade a printed book for personal use" - we can really see here how the false dichotomy between print and digital books has been fostered.
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